


Families Found

by AnxietyIncarnate



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, I think I’ve got this first bit done alright, James MacGyver is mean, Let’s see how far I can take this, Mac is raised in a lab, Protective Jack Dalton, idk might rewrite later, more to come - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-10-26 21:49:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20749310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnxietyIncarnate/pseuds/AnxietyIncarnate
Summary: Mac has been raised in a lab since he was four years old.When he is nineteen, he meets Jack Dalton.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wolfypuppypiles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfypuppypiles/gifts).

> Ok so this first chapter is kinda...short I guess?  
I have more written but It’s mostly just bare bones right now.  
I don’t know how often I’ll update.

Jack Dalton stood in an observation room looking over a lab. A strange machine that looked somewhat like a coffin was placed in the centre of the room.

He was there to observe an experiment, some sort of training for the United States Government. Intelligence, is what Matty had told him, though she’d never seen the experiment herself. 

He was a CIA Operative, and this was his current assignment. That didn’t mean he had to like it. 

James MacGyver, the man who was in charge of the experiment, had gone to collect the ‘subject’ 

the term gave Jack a bad feeling about the whole thing. 

Movement on the far side of the room caught his attention, he turned his head as the lab door  
Swung open, and James walked inside.

The boy that followed James into the room was young, looking to be in his early twenties, he had blond hair, and blue eyes. His clothing was not unlike a hospital gown, a deep blue colour that held no personality.

James gestured to the machine at the centre of the room, and the boy, after a small moment of hesitation, climbed inside. Jack thought that in that moment of hesitation, he had seen fear in the boy’s eyes.

How long had this kid been part of the experiment? He scowled slightly, as James closed the lid of the machine, and pressed the button to start it up. He felt a small prickle or anxiety at the back of his mind as James turned to leave the lab, and head to the observation deck.  
Was he really just going to leave the boy in there? Nobody was going to stay in the room in case something went wrong?

James was beside him now, and took in the look on his face  
“Angus will be fine. He’s been doing this for years” 

Years? 

“How...how old is he?” Jack asked, eyes still locked on the machine, inside it, the boy- Angus, scrunched his face up in what once again seemed like fear  
“Nineteen” Jack tore his gaze away from the machine to look at James in shock  
He hadn’t been far off his original guess, but Angus was still practically a child.

“how long has he been part of this?” James shrugged nonchalantly “since he was...oh around four years old? He was a genius even then, but I knew I could make him better” he sighed like he’d experienced some small inconvenience “ unfortunately, he’s still not good enough, and I’m not going to stop until my son is perfect”

That threw Jack off. What kind of parent would do...THIS, to their own child? He wasn’t a father, but hell if he didn’t feel the need to protect this kid. 

“The machine, what does it do, exactly?” Jack asked, struggling to keep the tremor out of his voice 

“It presents him with a series of problems, if he answers them incorrectly, it simulates fear”

‘holy shit’ Jack thought ‘I’ve gotta get him out of here’

“He’s become very good at improvising, he almost never solves a problem the way I think he’s going to” James said

“And the other experiments you run on him? What’re they like?”

James shrugged again like it was some tiny thing, like the boy in the machine didn’t matter  
“they’re mostly similar, simulating fear, small spaces, and sensory deprivation” he looked at Jack “he will be a brilliant asset to the government once he’s perfected”

Jack closed his eyes tightly, clenching his jaw to prevent himself from screaming 

“I’m sure he will be”

——————————————————————————————————————————  
——————————————————————————————————————————

When the experiment had finished its cycle, James went back into the room, and this time, Jack went with him. 

James opened the machine, and pulled MacGyver out by the collar of his shirt“Angus MacGyver, that was pathetic, By far one of your worst performances I have ever witnessed” 

The boy lowered his gaze “sorry, sir” he murmured. 

Jack felt his heart break a little for the kid, did he even know what life was like outside of the labs? He doubted it.

James directed Angus’s attention towards Jack “this is Jack Dalton, he’s here overseeing the experiment for a few weeks”

Jack forced a smile and reached out a hand “it’s nice to meet you, Angus ”  
The blond nodded at him, and tentatively reached out to shake his waiting hand

“It’s nice to meet you too”

James made a sound of disgust, and shoved Angus away “you have one hour until the next session” he left the room, leaving Jack and Angus behind.

Jace turned to make sure the blond was alright, but he didn’t seem to be bothered by the aggressive behaviour.

“Are you ok?” He asked anyways, and Angus looked at him in confusion for a moment before responding “Uh...yeah, I’m fine, he does that a lot” he paused “aren’t you gong to follow him? Everyone who comes to observe goes with him to learn more about it”

Jack shook his head “nah, I want to learn more about YOU, not the experiment”  
Angus looked surprised at that “there isn’t much to tell”

“Oh I’m sure there’s more to you than meets the eye” Jack said, and Angus shrugged “maybe”  
“Aw, c’mon. There’s gotta be something. What do you like to do?” Jack asked, sighing slightly when Angus shrugged again 

“I guess I like....reading?”

Jack grinned “there’s one place to start, Mac” he didn’t know where the nickname had come from, it had just popped into his mind.

Angus looked at him in confusion, eyebrows raised “Mac?”  
“Yeah, you know...’MACgyver”  
The blonde laughed “yeah ok. I like it”


	2. Chapter 2

At first, He wasn’t sure what to make of Jack.

The older man was so unlike all of the other people he had met these past fifteen years,   
Jack was the only person who seemed to have more interest in Mac than in the experiment.

Mac. The nickname that Jack had given him. He wondered briefly why the nickname given to him by a stranger meant so much more to him than the name given to him by his own father.

Of course, he’d never called the man ‘dad’ not for a long time anyways.  
He’d called him ‘James’ or ‘sir’ for as long as he could remember 

For the next three weeks, Jack was a near constant presence around the labs, and Mac spent most of his free time with the older man, listening to him ramble on about anything and everything.

Jack also listened to Mac talk about science, little experiments he’d done, and how James had had to take everything besides his books and the bed out of his room because he kept making more and more ridiculous things.

He had been sad to see Jack leave at the end of the three weeks.

——————————————————————————————————————————  
——————————————————————————————————————————

Jack had called Matty as soon as he left the labs.

The experiment wasn’t what they had been told it was.

They had been told that it was ethical, and volunteer based, but speaking to Mac proved otherwise.

The kid knew nothing of life outside the labs, he didn’t have a choice.

“Hello?” Matty’s voice sounded over the phone   
“Matty, I’m on my way back. We need to talk, Face to face. It’s about the experiment James is running”

“Okay” Matty said “meet me in room 23A”   
“See you there”

He hung up the phone, and drove.  
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Jack burst into the room where Matty was waiting  
“We have to get him out of there” he said before she could speak.

Matty looked at him in confusion “get who out of where?”

“The kid! Mac! We’ve gotta get him out of that experiment. As soon as possible. I’m telling you, Matty. What James is doing is Inhumane!” Jack was shouting now, the frantic need to protect Mac seeming to consume every fibre of his being.

She frowned “the subject is a child?” Her voice filled with concern 

Jack nodded his head “might as well be. he’s nineteen”

Matty was nodding “yeah. Yeah ok. We’ll get him Jack. We need to be smart about this, Alright?”

Jack closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves “okay”  
It wasn’t working. After spending three weeks at the lab observing the experiment, he simply felt the need to act, to get Mac far away from his so called father

Matty looked closely at him “what do the experiments do?”

He met her gaze now, and sighed “from what both Mac and James have told me, most of them are fear and pain based. If he...if he ever does something wrong in a session, he’s either hurt...or forced to feel fear” he paused, blinking back tears “I can’t leave him there, Matty. I can’t ” 

“And we won’t, Jack. I promise.” Matty assured him

——————————————————————————————————————————  
——————————————————————————————————————————

Mac was reading on his bed when he heard it.

Shouting sounded through the hallways, and he could make out multiple different voices, but no words, James was among them, but he didn’t recognize the others.

He frowned slightly, setting his book down and pushing himself up into a seated position, he turned to stare at the door to the room

The voices grew louder, James was no longer one of them. 

He could hear footsteps thundering down the halls.

They stopped outside of the door, the shouting stopped

The handle began to turn, Mac shifted nervously.

The door opened, and Jack burst into the room.  
“Jack?” He asked in confusion, moving to get off the bed “what’re you doing here?”

Jack gave him a smile “I’m getting you out of here. Come on”

He gestured for Mac to follow, waiting for the younger boy to reach him before he turned and left the room.

Mac followed James down the long hallway, past various labs and training rooms.  
When they reached a turn, he grabbed Jack’s arm and looked at him   
“What about James, isn’t he coming with us?”

Jack’s gaze darkened slightly, and he shook his head “he’s been arrested, Mac”

Mac frowned in confusion “what? Why?” 

Had James done something wrong? He couldn’t think of anything that the older man had done to warrant arresting

Jack sighed, resting a hand on Mac’s shoulder, and looking him in the eye  
“Mac, what he was doing here...what he was doing to you, it wasn’t right, do you understand?”

Mac looked at him for a moment, before shaking his head slowly

Jack sighed, running a hand over his face

“I’ll explain it to you later, kid. For now, let’s just get out of here”

Jack turned to the left, and led Mac down another long set of hallways, to a large set of doors that James had never let him see the other side of.

He stopped a few feet away from the doors, looking at them cautiously. James had promised that he’d regret it if he ever went past those doors.

Jack noticed his hesitation, and stepped back to stand beside him “It’s ok, Mac. It’s safe, I promise” 

Mac glanced at him, “James said that if I ever went past those doors...” he trailed off, his voice was quiet, shaking slightly.

“Mac” Jack said “James isn’t going to hurt you. It’s just you and me, ok? It’s going to be alright”

Mac took a deep breath, and nodded. 

Jack gave him a small smile, and stepped forwards to open the doors.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Natural light flooded into the hallway, Mac squinted, blinking as his eyes adjusted.  
Jack pressed the palm of his hand against Mac’s back, gently guiding him outside.

He looked around, eyes widening as he took in his surroundings.

The doors opened to a small parking lot that backed into a forest.  
The leaves were varying shades of red, yellow, and orange. 

The sky was bluer than he remembered, light fluffy clouds floated passively through the sky, and the air was crisp and cool.

There were a couple large vehicles in the parking lot.

Mac breathed in the fresh air.

For the first time in fifteen years, he was outside.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack smiled slightly as he watched Mac take in his surroundings, he turned to the side as one of the other agents walked up to him, Glancing at Mac briefly before addressing Jack

“James has been taken into custody. He’ll be in the interrogation room tomorrow if you wish to speak to him” Jack sighed “thank you, Aaron”

Aaron nodded, before looking back over at Mac, who was standing a few feet away, staring silently towards the forest  
“What’s going to happen to the kid?”

“He’ll stay with me” Jack said “I spent three weeks with him, it’ll be better for him if he’s with someone he’s familiar with”

Aaron nodded in agreement once more “makes sense, you two ok if the rest of us head out?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later” Jack assured him, watching as the other agent turned and walked back the group of vehicles, Jack’s own car was among them.

Jack walked over to Mac, making sure the boy knew he was there before speaking  
“You doing alright?”

Mac looked at him, and nodded “Uh... yeah I guess so. I just...I haven’t been outside in a long time” he looked conflicted, though, shaken and unsure.

Jack gave him a sympathetic smile, he knew it must be hard for the kid. His whole life had just been pulled out from under him

“Do you remember anything from before the experiment?” Jack asked, and Mac shrugged  
“A little bit? I...I remember the sky, and the grass, just little moments... I really don’t remember much” he sounded almost apologetic 

“it’s alright, Mac” Jack said, trying to reassure him.

He just hoped that, given time, Mac would be able to find some sense of normalcy.

There was a distinct hum of engines as the other cars pulled out of the parking lot and drove away, leaving just the two of them behind.

“What...what did you mean, before? When you said that what he was doing wasn’t right?” Mac asked after a minute 

“Well” Jack started “it just wasn’t. Mac, you’re still practically a kid. You had your whole childhood taken away from you” he paused, trying to come up with the right words to explain it to a kid who had never known anything different 

“The experiments, they themselves were wrong. It should never have happened to you. You should be able to make mistakes and not be punished for them” Jack let out small sigh, meeting Mac’s questioning gaze “you should be able to just, be a kid” 

Mac looked away “I...still don’t understand”

“You will someday” Jack assured gently, praying that it was true.  
Mac was starting back at the forest “I hope so” he replied, his voice was quiet.  
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Mac stared out the window at the scenery as they drove.

He’d read about the world outside of the lab a few times, but he didn’t think it’d be like this.  
The books he read had always been very scientific, how the world worked and stuff like that,  
but they had never described the world in detail, never mentioning how beautiful it actually was.

“You like it?” Jack asked from the drivers seat.

“Yeah” Mac said, turning to look at him, the barest hint of a smile on his face “it’s...it’s really nice” 

Jack grinned “it is, isn’t it? I’ll have to take you on a hike sometime, we’ll walk through the trails. I think you’d enjoy it” 

Mac gave a small nod of agreement “yeah. I think....it sounds like fun”

He turned his attention back to the window, and the beautiful scenery that stretched around them for what seemed like miles.

He let his mind wander back to the events of the past couple hours  
He didn’t know how he should feel about the current situation, for all he knew it could be another test.

He highly doubted that it was, though.

Jack had said it was over, the experiment had been shut down permanently, he would never have to deal with it again. 

His emotions were a strange mixture of relief, apprehension, and curiosity.

The experiment had been his whole life, his entire world, and even though he’d never really liked it, he couldn’t help but feel a small pang of loss. 

He’d get over it eventually.

“So...uh...where are we going?” He asked after a little while, looking back over at Jack.

The older man smiled slightly “My house in Los Angeles, there’s a bedroom set up for you there” he glanced briefly at Mac “I bought the house right after I met you” he said, and Mac tilted his head curiously “why?”

“From day one, I knew I couldn’t leave you there. My old apartment was too small anyways. The new house has more than enough room for the two of us” Jack said, his attention back on the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know that I haven’t updated in a while, and I’m not sure how long it’ll be till I update this story again. Or any of my other current stories for that matter. 
> 
> Life has been kicking my ass lately and I haven’t had the motivation to work on these.
> 
> That being said, I do fully intend to continue these stories eventually, and may work on some one-shots for other shows in the meantime (looking at you, Dragon Prince)


End file.
